Rwanda Cricket Association (RCA) has announced that it is organising an ‘Elite League’ for top Cricket players as hopes for the start of new season hang in balance. The mini-league comes as the Association’s best option after it pronounced itself ‘not ready yet’ to start the new season as Cricket teams in all divisions continue to struggle with financial difficulties. In July, the RCA President, Eddie Balaba Mugarura told Times Sport that the Association would not declare the season null and void despite the six-month hiatus and went on to confirm that the 2020 Cricket season would commence in September. However, the season was canceled after, through safety guidelines released in September, the Ministry made it mandatory for teams to test their players and keep them in quarantine during the competitions to avoid the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. “We had no choice but to cancel the season because of the Ministry’s new competitions guidelines. We were told to test players and staff and keep them in camp during the competitions but it is beyond our financial capacity. The conditions make it so expensive for us because we are not ready to afford that,” Mugarura said in an interview last week. “This is a league that does not have sponsors, and whose supporters are attending games free of charge. When you don’t have means, you have to wait. The season will resume when we find a way,” he added, revealing that RCA is trying to woo partners and sponsors as plans to commercialize its league takes shape in order to increase its financial capacity. As financial means remain a challenge for the teams, the Association decided to delay the start of the new season and opted, in the meantime, to organise a league for Elite players to freshen their fitness after being out of action for almost a year. Mugarura said his office is preparing for the league for both men and women categories and that the Association expects to select top cricket players and form teams for the competition. “We are organizing this small league to keep our players in good shape because we are not sure yet when the cricket season will start,” he said. Prior to the mini-league, RCA will select 40 best players to form three teams in the men category and 30 players who will form two teams competing in the women’s league. Details about the league will be announced in early December. Mugarura said the Elite League is also a good chance for the Cricket governing body to prepare the national team for next year’s World Cup Qualifiers. The senior national team will start the campaign for the 2021 T20 ICC World Cup Qualifier in April next year and in June for the Under-19 national team.
